After the War
by Portalien
Summary: What happens after Chell reaches the surface and stumbles through the wheat field? Find out here!
1. Freedom

**Hey everybody this is my first fanfic. I hope you like it and I welcome constructive criticism and ideas! NOT THE LEMONS! 8-D**

Freedom

I started across the field. I was undeniably stunned that I had been let go. Why had she done that? I was in the palm of her not-so-human hand, and she let me go! I never thought anyone; especially a super computer bent on killing me, would ever just let me go, especially when she could've squished me into a wall, electrified me, or shot me with a turret. Why, why, why? These and about one million other questions soared through my mind like bullets from a turret. Only once it started to grow dark and I was still stuck in this field that those questions started to fade and all new questions started to appear. How am I going to get out of here? Who's going to help me get home? And the worst by far, _what year is it?_

It was just becoming light when I stumbled out of the field and onto a highway. I knew that when I had gone into the facility, it had been 1998. I was twenty and had been looking for a way to get money, because I was going to be evicted from my apartment soon. I thought this "research" was going to be the kind of experiment like; _does this soda have any unknown side effects? _Or; _how many people out of this many people think this product is convenient? _I had never dreamed that I would be forced against my will to participate in tests that I could die in. I was terrified but, because I never give up, I faced the problem and I actually made it through. I actually _escaped._ Everyone thought that I was mute, but I wasn't. I had just made a pact to myself that the first word I said would be when I made it out of here again and those words would be freedom. And now, I scream them. I scream them and shout them and I realize for the first time in my life that I have something I never had before. Hope.


	2. What day is it?

**Hey did you like my first chapter? Review, please! Anyway I hope you like it and littlekuribohlover this chapter is dedicated to you and your awkward romance chaps! 8-D**

What day is it?

I managed to get a ride (now I'm reduced to hitchhiking, am I?) from a friendly mac truck driver, and I found out that I am somewhere near Kansas City, Kansas. I found that odd because my hometown is Cabot, Arkansas. Of course, with all the catacombs and enrichment spheres under Aperture Science, I couldn't be too surprised. If there's one thing I learned about Aperture, it's that their whole facility is full of oddities and they have NO zoning laws. Now that I think about it, Aperture Science is probably under the entire STATE of Arkansas, considering how far down underground we were, they could've just kept drilling forever. Anyway, onward the truck goes. We reach the city at about eight A.M. and by that time I'm famished but not so sleepy anymore because I slept on the way here. The first thing I realize when I get to Kansas City is that I have _belongings_. Once she decided to let me go, GLaDOS obviously thought that I might need something to live off of. I reach into the pocket of my Aperture Science jumpsuit (while mentally noting to go shopping first chance I get) and realize I have a wallet with cash and _my credit cards._ At least she had the decency to give me mine back and not someone else's.

I checked into a hotel then went shopping. I had to find something else to wear because I was bright orange and smelled like wheat. I made my way to a store someone told me about called Hollister. I don't know why I've never heard of it, because I was a trend setter back then. I walked into the store and immediately felt wrong. All these clothes were so strange and nothing like the clothes I remember. Panic rose up inside my chest like a ball repulsion gel. I frantically looked around until I saw a sale's clerk. I pretended to be calm and walked towards her.

"Excuse me, ma'am," I said politely, "do you have the date?"

"Yeah," She said. "It's July 14th, 2011."

"Thanks." I said, and hurried away frantically. I looked around and bought a striped T-Shirt and a pair of jean shorts, hoping I would fit in. As I went to check out I realized I needed a pair of shoes. I saw a few girls walking by in some shoes like the ones on the shelf, so I grabbed a pair and checked out. I'd never seen shoes like these, but I hoped these "Toms" would be comfortable.

I got back to my hotel and dumped my clothes on the bed. I would wear my jumpsuit around here, but when I needed to go out, I would wear my new-age clothes. I lay down on the bed, lost in thought. What was I supposed to do? The only clear option would be to return to Cabot and try to pick up the shattered pieces of my life. Hopefully that would still be possible. Then again, I could stay in Kansas and I could start a new life where nobody would know who I was or my sad background. I could just be Chell, an average girl. With that thought, I was about to drift off into sleep, but a thought kept wanting to come up. I couldn't quite understand what it was, but all of the sudden it hit me like a bolt of lightning (or GLaDOS's fake lightning she used to target me with). I had to go home. I had to go home so I could see him. Ryan.

This new thought jarred me awake as I frantically tried to remember his number. After all, if he was my boyfriend fourteen years ago, shouldn't I have it permanently etched into my brain? Maybe GLaDOS decided to take out those memories. I certainly didn't remember them in the facility. But I always remembered his face, even in my darkest hours there. The way he flipped his hair, the way the sun glistened on his skin. He was perfect, and he was mine. I had to find him. Ever since I had gotten out of Aperture, certain thoughts had jumped out at me. My mother's laugh, my father's strong hands working on some project. Now his phone number jumped out at me and I used the hotel phone to call him. It rang and rang and rang, and with each ring my hope diminished more and more. Finally it rang, stopped, and a deep baritone voice picked up on the other end.

"Hello?" Ryan said, obviously groggy from just waking up.

"Ryan? This is Chell. Oh my God, I've missed you so much!" I said a little too fast and excitedly. I scolded myself and forced myself to calm down.

"Chell? As in, my CHELL?" The hint of grogginess in his voice faded with every word. I could tell he wanted so bad to be able to see me. "Where are you? Where have you been? I've waited _so long _to hear your voice again!"

I snickered inside my head for a moment, thinking of my fourteen years as a mute, and then said. "I'm fine, Ryan. I'm in Kansas and I'll tell you everything as soon as I see you. One problem though; I need a ride home."

**Sorry about the cliffhangers but I just can't stop writing them. I don't know about you but I've always loved a cliffhanger book. Anyway, my updates will probably get slower on Monday because I have to go back to school. But for right now I know they'll be super quick. ^0^**


	3. Going Home

**Thanks everyone for your nice comments and advice. I hope you like this chap because I know SOMEONE *cough* isn't good at romance. Let's hope I'm as good as you because said person was actually good even though they say they weren't. YAY! 8P**

Going Home

After the call, Ryan and I made plans. I would meet him in Joplin, Missouri by renting a car here and he would take me back. I went to the rent-a-car place and paid for one day. I wouldn't need it that long, but since I didn't plan on returning it, it was the least I could do. I started the ignition, and drove down the street.

At about three thirty I drove through Joplin's main street. As I passed through town, I saw so many people on small phones that played games and music. I don't know what's happened since I was here, but it's definitely _not_ like this. I drove towards City Hall, where Ryan said he'd meet me. As I turned the corner, I saw him. Leaning against the side of his cherry red Mustang, was my old boyfriend, Ryan. He hadn't changed a bit. Same glistening skin, same sandy blonde hair. I drove up and parked next to him. He rushed over to me and before I knew what was happening, he picked me up and twirled me in his arms, just like he used to. This thought made me relax for the first time in _fourteen years._ Another feeling crept up inside me; warmth that bubbled through me and for a moment I didn't recognize it, it had been so long. But then as I looked into his perfect sky blue eyes, I realized what that feeling was; love.

He started the engine and the whole way home he talked about what happened while I was gone.

"When you left I thought it was because of something I'd done." He said. "I made myself believe you didn't want me anymore so I could move on. I found a girl named Ashley-" My heart sank. Had he found a girlfriend? Married her? Maybe even had children? "-We dated for about a year, but I could never get you out of my head. Finally she realized that what I needed most was you, and she let me go. I never stop thinking about you." He said, and he looked at me. "I know I made the right decision not to go chasing after her. I never would've been able to forgive myself. It would be like a small child that got an ice cream cone, but if he had waited could've had a whole sundae." I remembered his crazy similes, and how they never really made sense, and I laughed. At least for the time being he was reliving his memories and I didn't have to make up something. Yet. He smiled and started again.

"Your apartment is gone now. Since you weren't there they evicted you and I took your stuff back to my place. I have an apartment now and you can stay there as long as you want." I was relieved as he said this because GLaDOS's money was running low and I didn't have any money to use my credit cards. We stopped at a gas station to refill the tank and I got out with Ryan.

"Thanks for being so nice to me. You don't have and I'm obligating you to do so much and I have no idea how to repay you so-" He stopped me with a kiss. That warmth I felt when he hugged me returned and only did he stop when he had to pull the nozzle out of the car. I was overjoyed and I knew that he would be mine still. All these emotions were running through me like drugs and I almost didn't hear him when he asked me that infernal question I had been dreading since we left Joplin; _where have you been?_

As we got in the car, I tried to think of something on the fly, but nothing would come. He looked at me with expectant eyes, and something inside me said if I told him, he'd believe me. So I told. And told, and told, and told until I was trembling with the horrors I'd seen. When I was finished we sat there in silence for what seemed like eternity. Finally, he shook himself out of his trance and said, "Are you okay now?" All the fight left me. I knew that if I had told anyone else, maybe even my own parents, if they had been alive, they wouldn't have believed me. That all this time I'd been fighting and fighting and finally I didn't have to. Someone would look out for me and I could finally relax. Sleep, even. Not that cryogenic sleeping coma thing, though. Real sleep. The kind where you have dreams of sweet things and wake up to someone you love by your side, not a voice waking you for mandatory evaluation. With that thought I curled up on the bench seat, my head against Ryan's muscular but familiar arms, and slept for as long as the world would let me.

I woke to the sound of rain. Obviously I hadn't been asleep for long because when we left the gas station we only had about two more hours and we were still driving. I looked up to see the top up on the Mustang. Ryan must have done that. Since I wasn't wet he must've been resourceful enough to put it up at the first dark cloud. Storms around here came up strong and fast. Always better to be safe than sorry. I turned towards him and saw that he was looking at me with a puzzled expression.

"What?" I asked.

"You talk in your sleep now." He said with a hint of uneasiness in his voice. What had I said? I thought back to those tests with android turrets bent on killing me and shuddered. Anything could've come out of my mouth. "You said something about a girl named Glados and a boy named Wheatley. Who are they? Were they other people in the facility? Did they make it out with you?"

"No." I said, trying to word it right. I hadn't told him about the crazed super computers bent on trying to kill me. "Wheatley didn't make it out. He went crazy and I… I had to… kill him. He would've killed us all. As for GLaDOS, she decided to stay back. Someone had to run the facility now that everyone was gone. She decided she wanted to. She liked the robots anyway. I was the only one who came out."

"Oh," He said sympathetically, "its okay. I'm sure they were good people. We're almost home. About ten minutes out. Do you want to sleep some more?"

"Yes. By the time we get home it'll only be around seven and I want to be awake." I said, already dropping off. Ryan said something, but I couldn't make it out. "What?"

"I love you." He said, and black enveloped me.

**So how did I do on my first romance chap? Review and I'm game for constructive criticism. Go Portal! Also, give me your opinion: Is there going to be a Portal 3? PM me or review what you think.**


	4. Surprise

**Hey everybody I told you I wouldn't update fast now that I'm back in school AND I had to go to All City! I was ninth cellist. Wow, three chaps already! Thanks for your nice comments littlekuribohlover and thank you for telling everybody my real name! If you couldn't tell, I was being sarcastic. It's okay though. Nobody's going to track me down. Later everybody! 8-D**

Surprise

We parked in the parking garage around the corner from Ryan's apartment building and walked over. He unlocked his door and told me he'd be right back and that he was going down to get the mail. I walked into his apartment. It was small, but cozy. I could imagine being a normal person, getting an apartment like this and settling down. Getting a job, getting married, having kids… It sounded so good. I wished I could be like that. Maybe one day I'd forget the whole incident that took away fourteen years of my life. Ryan was back. He looked through the mail and his expression was puzzled.

"Chell…" He started to say something, and then thought better of it. Instead, he held out a package. "This is addressed to you."

"What? How is that possible? I haven't even been here five minutes!" I exclaimed, utterly bewildered. I opened the package and the color drained from my face. Cake. She knew I was here.

"Chell, Chell can you hear me?" Ryan's voice sounded urgent, but distant. I was lying on the couch in the living room of Ryan's apartment. No turrets, no relaxation chamber. Just Ryan's concerned face slowly swimming into view.

"Ryan. I'm fine." I lied, trying to look calm. I saw he didn't believe me. "It's really nothing."  
"Is that cake?" Ryan asked. He picked up the box and smelled the cake. "Smells like normal cake. Who, why, and what sent you cake? How did they even know where you were? Chell, what haven't you told me?"

I gave up. I knew we were going to be together for a long time, so I decided that if I was going to tell him sooner or later, sooner would be the best. So I spilled. About what GLaDOS really is, and Wheatley, and everything else I lied about when I first told him. At first he was puzzled by my words, and then he grinned, thinking it was a joke. When I finished and he noticed I was serious, and he became concerned for our safety. I told him it was fine and that we were in no danger. I said she let me go, so she wouldn't try to kill me now. He relaxed a bit after he told me that and we dropped the subject. Instead we talked about what we wanted to do tomorrow. I thought for a moment then said, "Well, I need some new clothes, and afterwards I want to go to the pet store."

The next day we returned to the apartment with new clothes for me and a raven. We decided to name him Moral. He was sleek and black and fierce-looking but very friendly. He instantly liked me, and I couldn't say I hated him. At least he would protect us if GLaDOS tried to murder us for some apparent reason. I laughed, thinking of GLaDOS storming in to the apartment and screaming her head off after she sees Moral. Since we still had time in the day, Ryan and I went for a walk in the park. Arkansas is known for its big trees and fertile soil, and it's not hard to find a good tree to climb. It was Ryan who suggested we climb the tree and for that matter go to the park as well. I agreed and soon we were high in the air, looking out over the beautiful vista. He wrapped his arms around me, and I relaxed, trying to remember the last time we were like this. Fourteen years ago, this was our tree. I remembered it now.  
"This is perfect. I could spend all day up here." I said, and we fell into a kiss. It was perfect, all of it, and I never wanted it to end. Unfortunately, it did. We had to eventually leave, and I went to bed that night with extremely good moods and great hopes for tomorrow.

I had forgotten the night before that it was Sunday, and Ryan had to go to work the next day. I was disappointed, hoping we could've spent the day together, but then I remembered that that job was what was keeping me here, and I hid my disappointment. Instead, I made breakfast for Ryan and then searched the internet and the newspaper for jobs. I found a couple. And I narrowed it down to two that would be a good idea. In the end I got a job at Dairy Queen, making ice cream. I was happy about having a job, and my work hours were the same as Ryan's job as a web designer, so we would get home at about the same time. I liked that idea, so I took to work with happiness and the thought of seeing Ryan again. As I was heading out of Dairy Queen, my cell phone, another thing GLaDOS put in my pockets and I have no idea how it's working, went off. I saw that it was Ryan, and he said; _meet me at our tree in five minutes. 3 Ryan. _I immediately set off for the park, and climbed the tree to just to see a breathtaking view of the sunset and Ryan sitting on the limbs, waiting for me. I sat down next to him, leaning against him. He moved, and I thought he was uncomfortable where he was sitting, so I sat up. Instead, when I turn around he's pulling something out of his pocket. I look closely, and I see it's a little box, and I'm confused. He looks at me with his deep eyes and said;  
"Chell, I know what you've been through, and I don't want you to go through it again. I want to be by your side to protect you forever. Will you marry me?"


	5. Enaged

** Wow I'm so sorry that took SOOOO long you guys. I've been really busy playing Minecraft and then I had SOL tests and homework has been CRAZY. Plus, right after school let out I went on vacation and left my laptop at home. But anyways, now it's time to get writing. But before I go, one last thing; give one, get one. If you give a review, I post a chap. If you don't, you'll have to track me down and take my computer. YOUR CHOICE. L8tur. ;)**

Engaged.

"Yes!" Chell replied, completely flabbergasted. "Yes, I will marry you! Yes, yes, yes!" She cried, and tried to hug him. Unfortunately, she forgot she was in a tree, and the next second, she wasn't. But even falling out of a tree couldn't spoil Chell's good mood. She had a fiancé. She had someone she could spend her life with. She had someone she could trust. All of her hope welled up inside her, and unexpected warmth spread to the tips of her fingers. She looked around, hoping no one had saw her unexpected fall, but they were alone. That was the moment she realized that she didn't care. She had been through something normal people can't, and shouldn't, dream about, and she deserved to be left alone to do whatever she pleased. And this is what she pleased. To settle down in a small town with the man of her dreams and start a family. Get a job. Maybe even a real house and a nice car. She sat up, and so did Ryan.

"You all right?" Chell asked, realizing how her head was throbbing.

"I think so. So I've been thinking, and I think that we should throw a party, but now I can't decide what to celebrate!" He said enthusiastically.

"What do you mean?" Chell asked, uncertain what he was talking about.

"Whether we should celebrate you coming home or our engagement!" He said.

"I think it should be our engagement, because you coming back means a lot of questions that I don't think you want to answer truthfully."

"That would be great, Ryan, but what should I say if someone asks me where I've been all this time?" Chell asked.

"Just… um… tell them… tell them you were studying abroad over in Japan or something and you decided to live over there for a while." Ryan responded.

"Then let's throw a party!" She said.

The next day, Ryan texted people, Chell made decorations, and they both went to the store and bought a whole bunch of food. They brought it all home, and sat on the couch to talk.

"So where should we hold our wedding?" Chell asked.

"I was thinking of down on the lake, about fifteen minutes south of here." He said. "It could be right when the sunset hits the water, making the water like fifteen different colors."

"That sounds wonderful." Chell replied, and stopped. "Um… Ryan… I just realized something. I don't have my birth certificate."

"Oh, don't worry about that." He replied. "It was in the safe in your apartment when I went to get your stuff before you were evicted, so it's all safe in my bedroom."

Chell relaxed. "Oh, good. I thought we were going to have a major problem."

The engagement party was set for that Sunday, when all of Ryan's friends would be off work because in Cabot, no shops were open on Sunday. There would be music, food, and everyone was very excited to hear that Chell was back in town. Everything was going to go great.

The days came and went, and finally, Sunday arrived. That morning, since the party won't even start until ten, Chell went out to buy a party dress. She liked the styles of a few of them, and picked them up to try on. She loved the look of all of them, but finally decided on a strapless body hugger that went a little above her knees. It was simple and elegant. Just what I need, Chell thought. Nothing too flashy that will make stand out. I've definitely had too much standing out for one lifetime. She paid for it with Ryan's debit card then rushed home, excited to show him. When she got home, there was a note on the door.

_Went out to get last minute food. Put some balloons on the ground for ambiance. Miss you already! Be back soon. _ _Love you!_

_-_ _Ryan_

Chell went inside and put her dress down on the bed. I guess I'll have to wait until he gets home to show him my dress, Chell thought. Well, whatever. Right now I've got some balloons to blow up. So Chell found the bag of balloons Ryan had bought and blew them all up, scattering them around the apartment so it looked really party-like. Once she was done, she went back into the bedroom and looked at her dress. It was really beautiful, but she realized the shoes she had bought at the store when she first came out didn't match her dress.

"Well then I guess I'll have to go get some shoes." She said. So she went to the shoe store, and found some beautiful cork wedges with interweaving blue straps on the top that matched her dress perfectly. She bought them and went home. When she got home, Ryan was there, and she smiled at him as she walked in the door.

"And where have you been, out saving the world?" Ryan asked playfully.

"Well, that is a full time job." Chell joked back. "Nah, what really happened is I realized my shoes didn't match my dress, so I went to the shoe store and bought some that did."

"Oh, okay. I guess I can let you off the hook this time." He said, and then laughed. "So, it's about five now. Should we go to dinner then come back for the party?"

"Sounds great. Where should we go?"

"I was thinking the Italian restaurant down the street. What do you think?"

"Oooooh yay I love Italian food. Now I'm super excited." So Chell and Ryan got on their best and ate at Gianno's, then came home. By then, it was about eight, and they still had two hours until the party started.

Those two hours passed in no time, and people stared to arrive. The party got started and escalated into a crazy bash with dancing girls, epic music, and insane lights. At first, Chell was nervous. Would people ask her where she'd been? Could she lie to their faces like that? It's not lying, Chell thought; it's just protecting them from the truth. But after a while, Chell started relaxing as she realized everyone was partying, and wasn't interested in talking. A couple of people said hello as she walked by, a few said congratulations, but most didn't notice her and went right on dancing. Chell danced with Ryan all night, and only stopped when her feet hurt so bad, she was forced to sit. She plopped down on the couch and took a deep breath.

"Having fun?" Ryan asked. He sat down next to her.

"More than I've ever had!" Chell exclaimed, kicked off her shoes, and curled up next to him. "When do you think the party will end?"

"Probably around three." He answered. "That's what I told everybody when I texted them." She looked at the clock. Two thirty a.m. and everybody was still dancing. She was so tired; she wondered how anyone could dance this long without stopping. Ryan stroked her hair, and it felt so good that Chell fell asleep snuggled against him.

"Chell, wake up my sleeping princess!" Ryan said. Chell opened her eyes. She looked at the clock; eight o' clock a.m.

"What happened last night?" Chell asked. She was in her bed, but she didn't remember going to bed.

"You don't remember?" He looked embarrassed. "Well, you dozed for about an hour, and when you woke up, everyone had left. You seemed almost as if you were in a trance, and you told me to come into the bedroom."

"Did we…?" Chell asked, suspicious of how things went after that.

"Yeah. But if you're wondering, it was good." He replied sheepishly. Chell sat there, dazed.

"Well, I'm kind of glad." She finally said. Ryan looked at her. "It was going to happen sooner or later, and it happened now. So maybe something will happen?"

"You mean like, positive?" Ryan asked. "That would be great. But now only time will tell. So we should plan the wedding for now."

Three weeks later, Chell tested and she came back positive, but when she went to the doctor, they told her it had been wrong and she would not have a baby. After her doctor's appointment, Chell and Ryan went home.

"I can't believe it." Chell said, utterly destroyed.

"I'm so sorry Chell. I can't believe what happened either." Ryan said, trying to be sympathetic.

"But, we just have to move on and hope that we can one day have one, and for now just focus on the wedding." Chell said. "We can worry about this after the wedding."

So Chell and Ryan planned their wedding cake, Chell's dress, Ryan's tuxedo, the flowers, the decorations, and everything else. Eight months later, Chell and Ryan drove to Pickthorne Lake, right around sunset. Everything was perfect, except for Chell, who wasn't feeling that great. She kept having cramps and she felt dizzy, but her friends said she probably just excited. So when they got there, all their friends filled the seats and Ryan stood at the front. Chell came down the aisle, but her cramps were starting to get really bad. As they said I do, Chell fell to the ground. Everyone panicked, and somebody went to call an ambulance. Ryan held Chell, and hoped that everything was all right.

Chell was rushed to the hospital and to the doctor's and Ryan's surprise, it turned out Chell actually was pregnant the whole time, and that she was now in labor. Ryan waited outside the door, hoping and praying that Chell and the baby would be alright. Half an hour later, the doctor opened the door.

"Mr. Shapiro, you may come in now." He said. Ryan walked through the door, and saw Chell laying on the hospital bed, pale and weak, but smiling from ear to ear.

"Ryan," Chell said. "I would like you to meet your new son, Toby."


	6. The New Baby

_Chapter 5_

"Toby? Is that his name?" Ryan asked. "I've always loved the name Toby. Hi there Toby. I'm your Daddy." Toby peeked out from under his blanket with big blue eyes, and Ryan's heart instantly melted. He sat down on my bedside, and took Toby in his arms. He was so small, so fragile. He was the perfect addition to Ryan and me and he made everyone in the room smile.

"Ryan, honey." I said. "I'm supposed to leave in three days with Toby, so I need you to get a couple of baby things from the store."

"Anything honey, what do you need?" Ryan asked.

I answered, "A crib, a highchair, a blanket, some bottles, diapers, wipes, powder, some onesies, and anything else you see and think he might need. Remember, we never thought he was coming so we never bought anything. He's our little miracle." I smiled down at Toby. Ryan kissed me and left, making his way to Babies R' Us to find furniture and other items for the unexpected baby. He found everything I had told him to get, plus a few cute animals and a few other essential items. As he made his way to check out, the clerk behind the register said, "Did your wife just find out she's going to have a baby? I've seen this one before."

"Actually," Ryan said with a giddy smile on his face, "my wife didn't know she was pregnant, and now she's due home in three days and we don't have any furniture for him."

"Wow." She said. "That's one story I haven't heard. I hope your wife comes home with a healthy baby."

"Thanks." Ryan said. "I hope so too." So he left the store and went home to start putting together the crib and putting away all the other baby things. It took about an hour to assemble the crib, and Ryan put it in the small bedroom that was earlier being used as storage. He moved these boxes down to actual storage, and moved the crib into that room. The room originally had a dresser in it too, and Ryan did a little cheer that he hadn't thrown it away. All it contained were a few old papers and a lot of cobwebs. Ryan cleaned it out, and then put all Toby's onesies in it. Even though Ryan had gotten seven onesies for Toby, they only took up one drawer, so he put the diapers and other changing items into those drawers too. He put the bottles away into the cupboard and the baby food into the pantry. After that, he put together the high chair and set it up in the kitchen, next to the table. Once he was happy with his work, he called his friend, Katherine, and asked her if she could come over and paint that room. She agreed, so he left the key under the mat and went back to the hospital to visit with me.

When he got there, I was sleeping, so he went to the nursery and found Toby wide awake and staring at the new world around him. He asked the nurse in the room if he was able to hold him, and she said that his vitals were healthy, so he was allowed to interact with people. So Ryan sat down in the nursery and held Toby until I woke up and came down the hall.

"Hey honey." I said as I walked in the nursery. "Are you enjoying holding him?"

"More than anything." Ryan replied. "I've been holding for almost an hour now, and he hasn't cried once."

"He's not a crier, that's for sure." I said. "But now he needs to be fed, so I need to hold him. You can stay if you want, you are his Dad."

"Alright, I will." He said, and sat down. I sat down and fed him then held him while he sleepily closed his eyes and fell asleep. I placed him back in his crib and got up.

"Did you get the things I told you to get?" I asked.

"Everything you said, plus a couple of extra things I saw and thought he might need." Ryan answered.

"Good. Because I am so excited to get home and I want to make sure everything is ready when he gets home so he can be completely comfortable." I said. "What did you do with the boxes that were in the guest room? I know you put everything in there; there isn't any other room in the apartment."

"I put them in storage."

"We have a storage facility?"

"Yeah. I just never got around to putting that stuff in though."

"Oh okay then I'm glad you finally did get that done. I wish we would've known he was coming, though, so we could've prepared and set up his room a little nicer."

"Leave that to me. I have to go, though, because I need sleep too. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow!" Ryan went home, and saw that Katherine had already done two walls in a pastel yellow and had left a note on the crib:

_Two walls done, other two tomorrow and detail work tomorrow and possibly next day. What time does Jane get home? -Katherine_

Ryan texted Katherine that I was to come home at two the day after tomorrow and that she could have all day tomorrow to work on the walls if she wanted to. She responded that that would be great and that she'd show up the next day at nine o' clock. So Ryan went to bed excited to see my surprised face when I saw that the room had been painted.

Two days later, at one o' clock in the afternoon; Ryan was getting ready to go pick up Toby and me from the hospital. He poked his head around the doorway of Toby's room for one last look. It was perfect. Katherine had finished at around eleven that morning and everything was looking great. The walls were a pastel yellow and one wall had sports equipment on it and Toby's name in big blue letters. His crib sat under it, and it looked like any self-respecting baby's room should. So Ryan left feeling great about the room. He got to the hospital and the doctors had already checked Toby and had declared him healthy, so I wrapped him in a blanket and took him to the car. I strapped him into his car seat and we drove home. I stepped into the apartment and said,

"It's good to be home, and I'm so excited for him to be here with us too." I snuggled Toby, and he giggled.

"Well, why don't we get him out of these hospital clothes and get him changed into one of the incredibly cute onesies I picked out for him?" Ryan said, eager for me to see the new room. I walked in and gasped.

"Oh my goodness, Ryan. What is this?" I exclaimed. "You painted the room _and_ decorated the walls too?"

"Yes I did! Well, wait, no I didn't. My friend, Katherine, the artist. She did it. She was excited to hear about the baby and when I asked her she was more than willing to help with this."

"It's amazing, but I just have one question; why not decorate all the walls? Why decorate just one?"

"Well, I know we don't have any more rooms in the house, so I figured if we decided to do this again sometime, we should have these walls open in case we want to put someone else's name on that wall."

"Oh, Ryan, let's let Toby have at least an hour here before we even think about having another child." So we let Toby get established, and we went on about normal life. Toby got bigger, I got a better job as a secretary at an office in the business part of town, and Ryan was able to take care of Toby during the day by moving his web designing into the apartment and conversing with clients over video chat. Everything was normal, and I couldn't be happier. I arrived home from work one day and saw Ryan snuggling Toby on the couch.

"Hey Ryan." I said. "What's up with Toby?"

"Oh, nothing." Ryan said. "He was just being fussy so I thought I would stop for a minute and hold him so he would calm down." Toby almost never cried, but he did fuss a lot. Every time he did, though, he wouldn't stop until I held him or someone changed his diaper, considering that that was the problem. So I took him in my arms and he immediately calmed down and looked at me with his big blue eyes, just like his daddy's. I loved those eyes, and now I had two pairs of them looking at me. It was wonderful, and I couldn't have asked for a cuter son.

"So, how was your day at work?" Ryan asked me. I sighed.

"It was good, but ever since we bought the company upstairs I've had to run back and forth up and down the stairs because we don't have any sort of intercom system. My feet are killing me!"

"Well, maybe they'll get an intercom system soon so that you can stop running all day."

"That would be nice, but we just don't have the budget for that right now so I guess it'll just have to be the carrying of the messages by foot now. But I get really tired during the day. With having to take care of Toby during the night and getting up early in the morning, I hardly get any sleep!"

"That could change." Ryan said, smiling mischievously.

"What are you talking about?" I said. "It's not like Toby's just going to disappear."

"How would you like to be the new secretary for my web designing company?" He asked.

"Really?" I exclaimed. "Oh honey that would be wonderful, but what would I do?"

"All you have to do is answer the phones, write up the bills, and handle the financial stuff. Then I could focus full time on the designing, we'd get work done twice as fast, and we could make more money!" He explained.

"Oh could we really?" I said. "That would be wonderful. Now I can stay home and make sure Toby doesn't get fussy either!"

"This will be great!" Ryan proclaimed.


	7. New Times

**Hey guys sorry about such the long wait. I thought nobody liked my story so I had almost decided to take it off when I saw your reviews. Thanks so much! About Chell's pregnancy, I had a HUGE writer's block and the only thing I could think of was to make her unexpectedly pregnant. Sorry, and I looked it up. O_O Oh, well, whatever. I'm twelve, I don't know these things. Anyway, here's a new chapter, hope you like it!**

New Times

One year later, Toby was growing up fast, and we were already planning for another baby. We tried, and finally, it happened. Right now, I was four months in, and we went to obstetrician to see the gender of the baby and how he or she was doing, and we got a huge surprise. We hadn't gone in for a check-up because we hadn't had the time with the business growing and Toby being a full time job. But now back to the surprise. We were going to have twins. A boy and a girl. I was utterly shocked for about ten seconds, but then I was excited. Ryan was too, but he was also afraid because as it is, we barely had room for one more baby, but for two? It would never happen. So we agreed as we left the doctor's that we were going to be going house hunting the next day.

So the next day, Toby, Ryan and I went around the outskirts of Cabot, looking for a house that our soon-to-be three children could grow up in. We looked around at different houses, but none of them really seemed to fit. We were getting very discouraged, but we decided to try one last house before calling it a day. And that was the one. This house was two stories and was a light beige color. It had a reddish brown roof and a green door. We loved the outside, but what completely sold us was the inside. I loved the shag carpets everywhere, and we both thought that the colors on the downstairs floors were perfect. There were three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, a garage, a basement, a room over the garage that could be turned into a bedroom or a playroom, and it even had a pool. We were sold, and that was that. Our lease on the apartment was up in one month, so we had to paint the bedrooms in the house soon so we could just move in.

We enjoyed painting, and Toby absolutely loved being able to crawl and slightly toddle around the new house while we did stuff. The shag carpet tickled his little legs, and it made him giggle all the time. I was happy to be doing it, but I was glad when it was over. Everything went over there in time, and our apartment's furniture supply got smaller and smaller. Finally, our lease was up, so we took everything else in the apartment, packed it up, and moved it into our new house. We had Toby's room set up, and then we looked around the house. The twin's bedroom, with two walls painted pink and two walls painted green, Toby's room, with his blue and signature sports equipment and name. I was glad Katherine was able to help us do that again, because it made us feel at home right away. I was ecstatic that we actually did it.

"Oh, Ryan." I said. "We did it! We got a new house, and the twins will be able to have their own play room! Oh, I don't what could make this day better!"

"How about this?" Ryan said. He took me outside, and I gasped. "Say hello to your new car!" He had bought us a minivan so that we could drive around the twins and Toby at the same time. This was the most wonderful day of my whole life. And I could say that, too.

Everyone got settled in within the week. Toby was making little shag carpet angels, which made us laugh. Ryan had set up his and my home office for web designing in the playroom, so that the kids could play while he worked and he could keep an eye on them. I was having trouble with morning sickness so most of the morning Ryan had to answer the phones, since my head was in the toilet. He walked in.

"Hey, sweetie. You feeling okay?" He said, and I immediately had to duck my head again. "Okay, so I guess that means you're a bit busy to work today."

I pulled my head up again and said, "I had morning sickness with Toby, but I thought it had just been something I ate. But now that I have double the life, it's like double the puke. I've never been this sick before."

"Well, if you need anything, just call." Ryan said, and handed me a towel. I thanked him, and immediately stuck my head back under. It got worse, but by noon I was finished and went downstairs to eat. Toby was sitting in his highchair, and Ryan was feeding him a baby food substance I thought looked just like what I had spent all morning getting rid of, and that pretty much ruined my appetite. I sat down on the couch, but next thing I knew, Ryan was waking me up and I was in a laying position. If I knew anything, it was that pregnancy is very, very hard. At least, it is with twins.

The babies were late. I was sitting in the kitchen, two days after they were supposed to arrive, wondering to myself if this was supposed to happen, when I felt a contraction. It was horrible, and twice as bad as the ones I had from Toby. I fell on the floor, and all of a sudden, my water broke. Ryan was up in the office, so I called to him.

"Ryan!" I yelled. "Get down here!"

He raced down the stairs and said, "What's happening? Is someone trying to break in, what?" Then he stopped, looked down at me and the wet floor around me, and said, "The twins?"

"Yah think?!" I exclaimed. Ryan picked me up, and rushed me out to the car. As we drove, he called our neighbor and asked her to watch Toby. She agreed, and we drove down the street to the hospital.

Ryan stayed in the room this time, and since we weren't that far into labor, this how everything happened. They rushed me in, and I was told to breathe really deeply and to push as hard as I could. Once I did so, I started squeezing Ryan's hand, and I knew I must've cut off his circulation several times, but he didn't seem to care. He was fixated on watching for the new baby. I pushed and pushed and pushed for what seemed like forever, when I felt a lot of pressure, and I knew in that moment it was the baby's head. I laughed when I heard her for the first time, and then I remembered that I still had another one. They told me to push again, and this time, he came out in record time. It was all worth the pain when I was holding them both. I was as excited as you can be when you've had two kids and feel like you've ran a marathon.

Ryan watched me as I slept for eight hours straight. When I had Toby, the whole time I accumulated a total of four hours, because I couldn't stop thinking about him. But with two of them, I was too exhausted to think about anything, so I got a solid eight hours. When I woke up at six the next morning, the first thing I saw was that Ryan had stayed at my bedside all night, holding my hand. I smiled because he was so sweet, but he was fast asleep, so I stroked his hair until he woke up.

"You know, they should really invent something that takes the panic out of husbands when their wives are in labor." Ryan said as he woke up.

"They do." I explained. "It's called "waiting outside." Ever heard of it?"

"Yes, but that's even worse because you don't know how your wife or your baby is doing." He replied "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"I know, but what was I supposed to do?" I replied.

"So anyway, do you want to come with me to the nursery to see them? We still haven't picked out names." He asked. So Ryan and I went down to the nursery and sat in the rocking chairs, Ryan holding the boy, and me holding the girl. We still weren't sure, but I looked at her, then back at Ryan, and we knew it simultaneously. Her name would be Alexandria. Ryan looked down at the boy and said, "I think we should name him Jeremiah." I loved the name, and nodded.

Three days passed in no time, and Toby was happy to see us all home again. I was eager to have them both home, but it turned into a handful really fast. I took some time away from the office and Ryan took over my job for the time being. It took about a month to get a routine for everything, and everything was working out just fine, until one night. The kids were their cribs, and Ryan and I had settled down at the kitchen table to talk and have some tea. All of a sudden, the front window's glass was shattered by a large rock, and a burglar with a sack jumped through the window. Ryan immediately ran in front of me to protect me.

The man yelled, "Both of you, stand next to each other and come towards me!" So naturally, we both stood up next to each other and came towards him. He tied Ryan to the chair in the living room, and then he says, "You're a fine one, aren't ya? How would you like to see what a real man is like?"

"Don't listen to him, Chell! Just stay where you are!" Ryan yelled. I saw the perfect opportunity, so I went for it. I walked toward him, and we made out in a way that I have never made out before. I looked into his eyes, and kicked the gun right out of his hand. He was stunned for a second, and that was all the time I needed. I lunged for the gun, held it up to his head, and said,

"I hope to see that the next time you harass a girl, it'll be in prison." He lunged for the gun, but I saw it coming and kicked him in the head, an instant knock out. I went over and untied Ryan. He jumped up and said, "That was amazing! Are you okay?" I nodded, but then the fear of the situation that I hadn't felt at the time came flooding over me, and I sat down and cried. Ryan sat down next to me, and he held me while I sobbed hysterically. After about a minute, we called the cops, and they came and arrested him. We found out that this man was a burglar that had been breaking in and sexually assaulting women all over Arkansas. The police were amazed that a 100 pound women that had had two children a month ago could knock out a 200 pound man with a gun and not get hurt. We were told he would be sent to prison for a long time.

The window got repaired, and we decided that we wouldn't tell the kids what had happened that night until they were older, for fear of scaring them. Our house never got broken into again, and Ryan and I joked that it was because that man had told all the other burglars that story and no one wanted to mess with me. We all wanted nothing more than to live a normal life, but I knew that that wish would never come true.


End file.
